tdigle Presents The Greatest Actors You've Never Heard Of

[Cena's Little Helper]

#1: Tony Leung

Selected Filmography
A City Of Sadness (1989)
Bullet In The Head (1990)
Hard Boiled (1992)
Chungking Express (1994)
Cyclo (1995)
Happy Together (1997)
In The Mood For Love (2000)
Hero (2002)
Infernal Affairs (2002)
2046 (2004)
Lust, Caution (2007)
Red Cliff (2008)​

General Comment: When it comes to versatility, I'm hard-pressed to think of anyone that rivals Tony Leung. From John Woo's ultra-violent crime sagas to Wong Kar-Wai's postmodern romances, he's practically done it all. However, Leung's talent and virtual disappearance into his roles, rather than his impressive résumé, are what truly put him with those handful of current actors who never turn in a bad performance, and who always leave their viewers wanting much, much more.

Two Performance You Can't Miss: Tony Leung and Wong Kar-Wai are arguably the best actor-director pair since De Niro and Scorsese. Thus, I recommend that you check out Chungking Express and Happy Together. The first one will have you smiling and wanting to hug yourself at its ending while the second one will make you realize that Wong Kar-Wai captured the whole "fragile loneliness and need for tenderness in a foreign country/strange land" thing so much better than Sofia Coppola did with Lost In Translation.

 

[Mr. TM]

Well, I have only been able to watch one of his films, that is the film Hero. His performance in that movie was incredible, for an incredible movie. I never thought much of watching any other of his films, but now I want to watch Hero again. If you can recommend me a film like Hero that he is in, or a character like Broken Sword, I would watch it.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Well, I have only been able to watch one of his films, that is the film Hero. His performance in that movie was incredible, for an incredible movie. I never thought much of watching any other of his films, but now I want to watch Hero again. If you can recommend me a film like Hero that he is in, or a character like Broken Sword, I would watch it.

See Red Cliff then. It got an American release this year, and it's directed by John Woo. Also, if you want to see him as a sleazy gangster, watch Cyclo (it's a pretty strange film, so, you have been forewarned).

Next up will be my main man Mads Mikkelsen. Then, we'll go to France and see what Daniel Auteuil and Vince Cassel are up to, and we'll also stop by Italy to see what's happening with Marcello Mastroianni. Finally, we'll go to Japan and ask for a chat with Toshiro Mifune.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

#2: Vincent Cassel

Selected Filmography
La Haine (1995)
Dobermann (1997)
The Crimson Rivers (2000)
Brotherhood Of The Wolf (2001)
Read My Lips (2001)
Irréversible (2002)
Sheitan (2006)
Eastern Promises (2007)
Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008)
Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 (2008)
​

General Comment: Vincent Cassel, the man married to the drop-dead gorgeous Monica Bellucci and that guy from the Ocean's Eleven series. Unfortunately, these seem to be the only things most English-speaking people know about this tremendous French actor. Fortunately, however, huge fans of his such as myself are always willing to teach those who lend an ear (or an eye) about his greatness. In fact, if you're still reading, I'll now tell you about two performances of his that will almost surely make us fellow passengers aboard FS Cassel.

Two Performance You Can't Miss: Start off with La Haine, the film that made Cassel a bona fide star. He received César nominations for Best Actor and Most Promising Actor in 1996 for his role as Vinz, a young, Jewish hoodlum loathing life and the police along with his multi-ethnic group of friends in the impoverished outskirts of Paris (the Césars are equivalent to the Oscars in France). After being captivated by his portrayal as Vinz, check out Sheitan, a horror-comedy about a group of twenty-something ne'er-do-wells who decide to spend Christmas Eve at the country house of Eve (Roxane Mesquida), a sexy and mischievous-looking temptress that they meet at a disco. Unluckily for them, and luckily for us, the caretaker of Eve's house is Joseph (Vince Cassel), a dirty, inbred-looking hick who just happens to also be a Satan-worshiper looking to sacrifice a human for the holidays.

 

[jmt225]

Vincent Cassel over the past year has become my all-time favorite actor.

Before seeing The Apartment, the only movies I have ever seen from him were Derailed, Ocean's 12, Elizabeth, and Irréversible. Now, Derailed he was good in, but it's nothing that blows you away and his performance/the movie as a whole just isn't memorable. I absolutely despised Ocean's 12 and didn't even remember the "bad guy" was the same guy from Derailed. Elizabeth, I actually need to watch again because I don't remember him being in it, lol. And in Irréversible, Cassel is great, but at the same time... there's so much more to remember from that film other than Cassel's performance, so he didn't stick with me after seeing this, until I watched it again as a Vincent Cassel fan, in which I was able to fully appreciate his awesome performance.

Anyway, I became a big fan of Monica Bellucci after Irréversible and wanted to see some more of her work. Eventually I saw The Apartment, which starred Cassel, and that's what made me become a huge fan of the guy. I hated the ending to it, but his performance was absolutely flawless.

After seeing The Apartment, I sought out to see more of Vincent Cassel's stuff, and I was not disappointed. Read My Lips is a masterpiece in my book, and my 2nd favorite film from Cassel. Along with La Haine, if you want to see Vincent Cassel at his absolute best, then see Read My Lips. I promise you won't regret it.

But speaking of La Haine, I've watched it 3 times within the past couple of months and it's now one of my all time favorite movies. It's unbelievably great. If you think films like Menace to Society, Boyz in the Hood, American History X, etc. are good, then you seriously need to check out La Haine. You will love it, that's a guarantee.

Recently I watched Brotherhood of the Wolf (damn, I forgot to include that in my Movie Log, but I'll get to it next time), and this was another damn good movie from start to finish. Sheitan... meh. His performance is great in it, but the movie overall has a ton of flaws. Dobermann was okay, but what hurt it was that there wasn't enough Vincent Cassel for my liking. Eastern Promises was awesome and Cassel should have gotten an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor as far as I'm concerned. I have Crimson Rivers sitting on my shelf waiting to be watched, and it will be by the next time I update my Movie Log here at WZ. And unfortunately, his most praised performance, the Mesrine films, I have yet to see and probably won't for some time. Moreover, there's a film called Adrift that I'd really like to see from him as well.

So yeah... there's my love for this guy. What amazes me most is not his tremendous acting ability, but how many languages this guy acts in. Seriously, it's hard enough to learn another language, but to actually act and do a great job in languages you don't speak? That's unbelievable. He's done French films, American films, British films, Russian films, and now a Brazilian film with Adrift. I mean, seriously... the guy is the best actor alive and perhaps to ever exist, and that's a big reason why.